Clara India Klar was born February 2, 1865, at Meadow Creek, West Virginia.
     At age 13 she came to Harper County, Kansas, later moving to Barber County.
     She married James B. Shanks in 1887. He was a Barber Countian. There were
     nine children born to this union: Linnie (Meador), William, Della (Parker),
     James, Stella (Vaughn), Nellie (McKaig-Clarke), Morris Novel, Luther, and
     Cora (McCracken). All are deceased except Cora, Mrs. Boyd McCracken, who
     lives in Vallejo, California.
       James took a claim about 20 miles southwest of Medicine Lodge, where they
     lived. His brother, May Shanks, also took a claim nearby. Later when the
     land was being surveyed for roads, Jim carried the surveyor's chain. He
     became ill and pneumonia developed. There were no antibiotics, and he passed
     away in 1916. Jim was 59. Clara sold the claim to Conrad Baier and moved to
     town. She purchased land northwest of Medicine Lodge in Mingona township.
       Clara was one of the early pioneers of Kansas, spending most of her life
     in Barber County. She was the last in the community in which she settled, 
     and the oldest member of the Baptist Church at the time of her death, having
     been united by baptism February 27, 1898. She was a pleasure to visit with
     in her semi-invalid days, never complaining though confined to her home
     many years. She was deceased in 1953 at age 88.
       Jim's brother, May, lived in the Gyp Hills all his life. He drove a team
     of big grey horses to a wagon, his only mode of travel. This was a common
     sight to friends along the way to town. When oil exploration began in the
     area, he remarked, when asked if he would lease, "No, I don't think so. I
     wouldn't have any way to get it to town but in the wagon." May died in 1939,
     aged 71.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 410